Claiming compensation from companies who have ceased trading or are in administration

In most compensation claims following an accident at work, a solicitor knows who to address the claim to as the company will still be in business and operating at the same place. However, if a claim is delayed it can lead to problems. If you left a company after an accident at work and didn’t pursue your claim for months, the company could have moved premises or even ceased trading.

Whilst you can still pursue a claim against a company which has moved, it means that your solicitor will have to waste time tracking them down. This may seem easy, but it’s not always a simple process. For companies that have ceased trading or gone in to liquidation, it can be even harder, but there is still an opportunity to pursue your claim for personal injury compensation.

Companies in administration

If you were injured working for an employer that was already or now is in the process of an official administration at the hands of an appointed administrator, it is likely that a claim can still be made. Whilst the right to claim remains, the prospects of success are likely to be smaller than otherwise for reasons that I will explain.

If we consider claiming compensation for an injury after an accident at work from a company in administration, it will still be possible for your solicitor to liaise with the administrators who become the defacto 3rd party. The likely outcome of any claim being made against the employer will depend on whether the administrator can confirm that the employer had complied with their responsibilities to hold valid employee liability insurance and if so, what level of excess stands on the policy.

If insurance was in place before the company went in to administration and the costs of the insurance had been paid, the policy would remain effective and a claim could still stand. However, the excess cost would then become an issue. With employee liability insurance, it is common for excess amounts to be a 4 figure sum – ranging from £1000 right up to 5 figure sums. With this in mind, if an administrator confirms a high excess, it could mean that the amount of money the excess forms would be higher than the value of the claim that you may make. As the administrator will not be able to pay the excess for any claim to be made, the claimant can opt to sacrifice the excess from their claim value and then retain the balance. This can work fine if the value of a claim substantially outweighs the excess amount. For example, if you had a claim that had a value of £10,000 in compensation, but the excess was only £1000, it would still be worth claiming as you would then stand to receive £9,000 before your legal costs were deducted, leaving you with £6,750 in settlement. Whilst this may seem unfair (and it is!) it is better than having nothing.

However, if your claim settlement was worth £1,000 and the excess was also £1,000 it would not be worth pursuing the claim, unless you really wanted to prove a point. It is also unlikely that a solicitor would continue to pursue the claim on a conditional fee agreement basis.

Companies who have ceased trading

If you attempt to make a claim against a company who have ceased trading, it may still be worth making a claim against them. However, it is important to be honest and realise that it is not likely to be a simple process or a speedy one, and that finding a solicitor to pursue the claim on a conditional fee basis could prove very difficult.

Companies who no longer trade have no active staff, therefore requests for information will not be answered and therefore finding out who their insurers were and whether they had cover may be impossible. Most companies are limited companies and this means that if the company is closed, you cannot claim against the business owners or directors as they are not personally responsible for the losses or costs of a business.

What to do if you think you fall in to this category of claim

If you believe that the company that you wish to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation against has gone in to administration or no longer trades you obviously won’t know where you stand until you get some specialist help. Why not contact us and let us do some investigations for you. We’ll be able to find a solicitor willing to look in to the claim and they can then evaluate the likely outcome should any claim be made. Remember, it costs you nothing to look in to claiming or making a claim for personal injury compensation. There is nothing to pay if the claim doesn’t succeed, so you have nothing to lose.

About Ian Morris

I've been involved in the management of personal injury claims for nearly 20 years. Outside of work, I'm married with 2 beautiful daughters. I love surfing, snowboarding and spending time with my family. You can find me on Twitter.

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Questions & Answers

Lizzie 20th February 2020 at 6:55 pm

Can a claim be made against a company that ceased trading 2 years ago? The claim is for a car accident and the person in the accident claimed for a hire car insurance was fully comp on both sides so this should have been paid the accident was supposedly 4 years ago.

Who has told you that he does not have insurance in place? You could still pursue the claim against the employer directly – against them personally – if they have the financial wherewithal to pay compensation.

I have had a claim going through with solicitors for over two and a half years. The company who admitted liability after I had a fall on holiday, Thomas Cooke, have ceased trading. My solicitor said the claim was worth in excess of 250,000 nothing has happened since, what can we do? my husband is paralysed as a result of the accident.

This situation needs to be discussed with your Solicitor at the earliest opportunity. However, as the defendant has been placed in liquidation, your Solicitor may at this time not know whether or not the claim can proceed. Of course, the insurers acting for the liquidated company will remain in place but the liquidated company is no longer in place to pay any excess on the policy. Depending on the size of their excess, it could impact on the claim.

On a positive note, given the potential value of the claim, the Solicitor will not want to simply close the claim if there is any way at all that they can succeed as alongside your Husband’s settlement value, the Solicitors fees would be substantial too and the only way that they can be recovered would be by succeeding with the claim for your Husband.

The company I work for is in administration, I injured myself in work due to faulty equipment and was off with excruciating back pain for 3 months and in that time I saw a private physio who said I had a twisted pelvis!! I have been back at work just over a month on a phased return, only work 8 hours instead of my usual 23. My GP prescribed Diazepam, Naproxen and Medicated Patches patches I have also been attending an NHS Physio and am currently waiting on an MRI Scan result. My Llawyer has told me that my employers excess is £40,000 so pointless making a claim so it is up to the Administrators? But I am in constant pain and normal daily tasks have become more difficult also the prospects of finding employment due to my back pain is really worrying me know? Surely only after seeing MRI result and seeing my medical records can they assess how much my claim is worth?

You are correct to say that the value for the injury element of a claim for personal injury compensation would only be known once a medical report was completed and then considered by Counsel. However, whilst your injury was clearly serious and very painful, the value of your claim would not exceed £40k. As the employer you work for is in administration, if you go on to make a claim and succeed in getting a settlement, your Settlement would only see you listed as a creditor and dealt with by the Administrators. As you are aware, in most cases, creditors for companies in administration receive only pennies for the pounds that they are owed. Therefore, there is every chance that your Solicitor would not be able to recover any costs and would not be able to pursue the claim as a result.

Hello, I worked for a company that has gone into administration. I had a head injury during the last years that the factory was open. I was sent to hospital and had 8 stitches on my forehead. I was hit with block of wood thrown at me accidentally by my colleague. Can I still claim now I have been made redundant?

Yes, it would appear that you would still be able to pursue your claim. As long as your injury was non-fault (caused by negligence or due to someone else’s mistake), you have sought medical attention and your injury happened within the past 3 years, you meet the criteria to pursue a claim for compensation.

I fractured my knee after a fall at work. My company never reported it to Health & Safety. The company has now been bought by a new owner and stopped trading under the previous name. I have kept my job with the new owners in the new company. Would I be able to claim against the previous business without claiming against the new company? I wouldn’t feel comfortable claiming against the new employers.

Firstly, before we know whether or not you can make a claim, we need to understand how you fractured your knee and learn more about the incident itself. However, it is likely that a claim could proceed but it would be against the insurance that was in place under the previous regime and would not be against the new owners of the business.

I worked at a very large tv studios doing high profile tv shows 2004-2012. I left in August 2012 but now suffer badly from hearing in both ears. Health and safety was a joke. Long hours and very high pressure sound in side studio. Studio has closed now do I have a claim?

Your 3 year claim period will be deemed to have started from the date that you first developed symptoms of hearing loss. If you developed your symptoms within the past 3 years and have had a hearing test that has confirmed the hearing loss as being industrial hearing loss, you could further consider making a claim.

Do you mean that the Solicitors you had instructed have ceased trading? If that is the case, you can certainly ‘switch’ your claim to a new firm or to one of our specialist Solicitors. Please do call us or email us (justice@direct2compensation.co.uk) so that we can help you.

Without knowing anything of the firm you mention and because we do not work within the PPI arena, we can’t offer any help. However, we wonder whether you may find support by contacting the Legal Ombudsman?

I had an eyebrow injury, very severe. I used my union solicitors who are unable to assist because the company has no liability insurance and are not responding to letters, however I have the proof I attended the shop and also they gave me a gift voucher. My solicitor has said I would win hands down but they are only showing assets of 300 which is ridiculous, there are 6-7 people and the shop is packed all the time, therefore I am asking if I can sue the owner personally?

It is possible to pursue a claim against a business owner or Director – if the business is not a limited company. However, as you can imagine it is more problematic and far more risky to pursue a claim against an individual rather than an insured business and this can make it difficult for a No Win No Fee Solicitor to be able to take on such a claim.

I worked in engineering as a manual lathe operator. There was no extraction on the lathes, so I was inhaling smoke & also no masks were provided. I went to the industrial disease centre in Liverpool, where all evidence was put forward and the the dwp board found that I had industrial disease (namely asthma). I was awarded industrial disease disability for life. This was early to mid 90’s. In March this year, I was reassessed by the dwp and a scan showed that I now have emphysema & copd. My award went up to 50% disability for life.

The company I worked for went bust in I think 201. Is there anything that I can do?

Have you ever claimed for the previously diagnosed industrial injury of Asthma? If so, you may not be able to return for the new diagnosis that you have received. However, it would be sensible to speak with our specialist industrial injury/illness Solicitors to find out whether or not you can take action.

If you have never taken any action in terms of a claim for compensation for the industrial disease that you now live with, you certainly should give instructions to a specialist personal injury provider – such as Direct2Compensation and the specialist Solicitors with whom we work – to act for you. As we work on a No Win No Fee basis, if it were found that the former employer was indeed liquidated and if no previous insurance cover can be accessed, the claim would fail but it would cost you nothing.

Hi , a worked for my fathers (LTD) company off and on for long for long periods of time from 1984 to 2011 , when it went into liquidation , during my times there I was exposed to very long times supervising the marble bridging saw cutting very large slabs of marble being cut to required sizes , also long periods of times of working same saw by myself , also useing kango hammers etc etc etc , can I make a claim for industrial deafness , this month been to a hearing clinic , had all tests , and require hearing aids for both ears !!!??

Potentially you can make a claim for the industrial hearing loss that you have suffered. The issue you may face will arise from the fact that the business went in to liquidation and no longer exists. If the business had active insurance cover in place at the time of liquidation, the claim may be able to proceed against that.

I now have tinnitus, which is getting worse. I worked for a hosiery factory for 47 years. I was paid for a claim for hearing loss about 20 years ago but at that time no tinnitus. The company is now in liquidation. I was just wondering if I could make a claim.

I went to my GP about 2 years ago because my tinnitus which at first was just a murmur when there was no other noise. But now it has changed to a rushing noise 24 hours a day over all other sounds. He referred me to Royal Derby Hospital ENT clinic where I had audiology tests and they said the tinnitus was untreatable and I was prescribed hearing aids which they said would mask out the tinnitus, which hasn’t happened.

My son worked in a foundry for 12 years. The company ceased trading and he was made redundant. He is now suffering with bad health and this maybe caused by the lead and other materials he worked with daily. A blood test in the next few weeks will tell us exactly the cause of his problem.

Your Son may have a valid claim for industrial illness or industrial disease compensation, if it is found that his ill health is linked to his employment and his employer failed to provide him with the correct personal protective equipment and a safe working environment. He will need to make any claim within 3 years of the date that he became aware that his ill health was work related.

Hi, my children were both awarded £3250 at court after a car accident on the motorway. I have now received a letter from people dealing with the claim saying the company has gone into administration. Is there anything that can be done or will they lose their compensation?

I have loss of hearing to my right ear sustained during my time working with Alfred McAlpine in the early 2000’s, the company was taken over by I’ll fated Carillion in 2005. Being a large contractor all relevant insurances would have been in place at the time. I’m still in contact with a number of work colleagues from the time. My exposure at the time would have been too mechanical rivet busting machinery.

You should make an appointment with your GP to discuss your hearing loss and seek a test to confirm that it was caused by your work. You do have a right to make a claim for industrial hearing loss and this is something we can assist you with.

Hi Ian, I fractured my foot while in work. Not long after going back to work I was made redundant. I know the company I was working for has gone into administration, but it was a subsidiary of another company or being backed by them. Is it still possible to put a claim in against them?

The company going in to administration will not prevent you from being able to pursue a claim for foot injury compensation. The issue is whether the company had insurance in place at the time of your accident and if there are sufficient assets in place to cover the excess cost that any successful claim would include.

You should certainly exercise your legal right to make a claim against your former employers if you believe that your foot injury was due to their negligence and not worry about whether or not the administration issue and lack of funds within the former employers business impacts on your claim. Of course, it would be disappointing if the administration issue did cause an otherwise valid claim to fail. However, with our No Win No Fee service, you would never have to pay any costs in that circumstance, so why not make the claim and see what happens?

Hi. I suffered a personal injury at work 2 years ago when I was attacked by a service users. I was out of work for 10 weeks. I was initially told that they would pay me ‘discretionary sick pay’ & then later refused. The company I work for has exchanged hands but still employs the same staff. Recently another staff member was attacked & her injuries were similiar to mine. I learnt that they will be paying her a full wage until she returns in 8 weeks yet I was on SSP for 10 weeks. Would I still be able to pursue a claim even if the company now is under a new one?

The time issue is not a problem as you have a claim limitation period of 3 years. As 2 have passed, you have a further 12 months left in which you can make a claim.

The issue you will have is that you will have to demonstrate employer negligence to pursue a claim against the employer. As you were attacked, it could be that this is a criminal injuries claim. As such, was the incident reported to the Police?

I was in a RTA in December 2016, LA Law, who have now ceased trading were dealing with my case. They did pass me onto another firm, I can’t remember the name of the company or find any correspondence with their name on. What can I do about my claim?

If your employer has been purchased by a new company and you are being made redundant, UK law would see you entitled to a redundancy payment. However, if the new owners are retaining your services on the same basis you would not be entitled to any additional benefits.

Hi I am pursuing a cavity wall claim with pure legal limited and have been told the installers mark group ltd have gone into administration in 2015 it has been twelve months since pure legal took on my claim on a no win no fee basis how long can you keep a case ongoing/open with no defendant? I had a guarantee with the works which is still within time but should never have been recommended the insulation as our home is unsuitable we now have damp and mould

The claim you mention is not of a personal injury nature, so it is hard for us to give specific advice from a position of expertise. In claims for personal injury compensation, when a company has ceased trading or gone in to administration, the acting Solicitor will initially present the claim to the adminstrators of the failed business or the liquidator. This process can take many months and even years. As such, it would be within expectations for the Solicitors acting for you to retain interest in your claim at this time.

I claimed for an accident at a holiday villa over two years ago…the insurance company have been working with my solicitor but the company that owned the villa has now closed and their public liability insurance has closed……can my claim still go ahead?

As long as their cover was in place at the time of the accident and was paid for, the claim could still proceed. The issue you could face is the excess on their insurance. As the company is no longer trading it is not there to pay the excess fee applicable to any claim made. As such, it could be that you have to agree to pay the excess by way of a deduction from your insurance premium. Whilst such an outcome would clearly be disappointing, it would be a case of getting 90% of something is better than getting 100% of nothing.

I worked for a company called Mark Group Ltd who ceased trading in 2015. I was required to use a Hi-impact Drill for long periods of time to carry out cavity wall insulation tasks. I had to use the drill all day every day and use it with either hand. The company did not make us aware of any risks and no assessment or monitoring was ever done. I am now starting to show signs of HAVS and am booked in with my G.P for some tests. Is this something I can pursue as an industrial injury? It is starting to affect my current ability to work.

As long as your symptoms started less than 3 years ago, you could be within the claim limitation period of 3 years. Whilst you can still pursue a claim against the company if they have ceased trading, as you can imagine, it can sometimes become impossible to obtain a compensation settlement. That said, once you have had your tests at the GP and if a repetitive strain injury like HAVS is confirmed, you should contact us so that we can investigate this further for you.

I worked for a company for 5 years as a sales assistant. A lot of my time was spent working at a till. There has never been any seats at the tills and when I’ve enquired as to why, I was told that it was against company policy. Over the past 9 months I’ve been suffering excruciating hip pain. After a long wait I finally go to see a physio. He believes that the tendons in my buttock has been stretched and torn. He says it’s likely because of standing for long periods and stretching to pick up the products. One of the tills also had a faulty belt and hardly ever worked. The company went into administration and a couple of months ago ceased to trade. I was made redundant before I even realised that they could be to blame for my discomfort. If physio goes to plan and my tendons heal then I’ve been in a lot of pain for at least 12 months.. the physio expects it to take about 6-8 weeks before I feel any better. Can I claim compensation? I’ve not lost any time from work as I’ve always suffered more in the evenings once I’ve been at rest.

Although the company for whom you were working have gone in to administration, you could still make a claim against them. If they had insurance cover in place at the time of their administration that should still be in place and could be claimed against.

Did the former employer ever provide you with manual handling training? From what you say, it would appear that the employer failed to provide you with a working environment that would allow you to work safely and as such, liability could attach against them in the claim.

Hello I’m making enquiries for my uncle who was injured at works as a result of a failure of Temporary Works. There was no negligence from the contractor who installed the support, but was caused due to a fault with the design. The designers closed business in January. Does the fault now pass onto the contractor?

Anyone who owns or occupies a business property that allows entry to members of the public must ensure that they put proper precautionary measures in place to protect their visitors or customers. If they fail to take steps to make the place safe for visitors and you are injured as a result of this neglect, they are liable to compensate you for your pain and suffering.

My father worked most of his adult life with the same company, he has recently been diagnosed with COPD as the result of working conditions during his time with his employer. In 2006 this company went into administration leaving 450 employees out of work, it was subsequently taken over by another company within the same industry. This company continues to trade today although not on the same site. Is my father entitled to make a claim?

Our specialist Solicitors can certainly investigate your Father’s situation with a view to pursuing a claim for compensation if the relevant criteria are met. Given the nature of COPD symptoms and the fact that we operate on a fully No Win No Fee basis, we’d like to speak with him or yourself in relation to this so that we can then get the right specialist Solicitor to discuss things in detail with him and if applicable, run some searches on the insurance situation of his former employers and then go from there.

My daughter slipped on a wet floor in a restaurant, she was taken to the hospital with a nasty fracture to her elbow and put in plaster overnight. she had an operation the following morning to have a metal plate put into her arm. We have contacted a solicitor and everything is proceeding…. but we have just found out that the restaurant has now closed down. Where do we stand as far as our injury claim is to proceed?

The claim against the restaurant in question can proceed, even if the business has ceased trading. When the business was open, it should have had public liability insurance in place. In the vast majority of claims for personal injury compensation, a claim is made against such insurance cover. In this case, the policy will still provide cover for the business for the period that the policy covered – which should cover your Daughter.

The issue that you may come up against is the excess on the policy. As with all insurance cover, public liability policies usually have an excess that the insured party must pay when a claim is settled. In your daughters case, it may be that the excess will need to be paid out of whatever settlement is agreed as there is no longer an ‘insured’ business in place to pay their own excess. As an example, if the excess on this policy is £500 and your daughter’s claim settled for £2,000 (these figures are not representative – just an example), your daughter may have to pay £500 as an excess in order to obtain the remaining £1500 as settlement.

If the restaurant had no such insurance in place, the fact that it has ceased trading could leave the claim high and dry.

A couple of years ago i got badly burned from a laser tattoo removal clinic, I asked a law firm if i would have a chance of claiming compensation but they said they doubt it. Last weekend i had more treatment done at another clinic and the reults were astoundingly better which made me certain that the previous clinic was at fault. When I looked into it the clinic has now dissolved and it was a private limited company.

How would I be able to persue a claim to gain some compensation for the negligence?

You have 3 years in which you can make a claim for compensation so you would appear to have 12 months of so of this period remaining. The fact that the previously used laser removal clinic was a limited company is somewhat irrelevant as what is important is whether or not they held insurance cover at the time of your procedure.

Our specialist Solicitors could possibly investigate any insurance cover for you and see if there is anything that can be done for you. Of course, there would need to have been a complaint made to the laser clinic at the time when you were burned and medical treatment to demonstrate the severity of the burns.

Perhaps you would like to contact us so that we can see if any of our Solicitors can do anything for you?

Some two years back, I started working in retail and was based in a shop. My work included duties such as lifting items, cleaning and other general shop work. I felt a pain in my back during one of my shifts but did not give it too much attention. However, as time passed, the pain became worse and now sometimes I am in such pain I cannot even move.

I cannot identify one particular incident that caused the pain but I am convinced that the pain was caused through the physical nature of my job. I have read about people receiving compensation for such situations as a workplace injury claim and these situations sounds like my own.

The company I worked for is now closed and I don’t know if the company is still in existance. I do have my P60, some pay slips and my contract agreement. Can I make a claim for any such compensation? Any advice from you will be very much appreciated.

If your employer tasked you with physical duties such as lifting and moving stock, cleaning and other manual duties they should have ensured that you were provided with Manual Handling training. If your former employer failed to provide you training, they will be guilty of employer negligence and as such, may struggle to defend any claim you then opted to pursue.

Had a road traffic accident in Feb 2016, we were rear ended, our solicitor has took so long to get the claim sorted that the insurance company has gone into liquidation. We have accepted an amount of payout so we were looking forward to a holiday to get over this stress, but no chance. He is saying the FSA are not any help. I think the solicitor has done a bad job from beginning to end, endless chasing up, and now this. What can we do?

If you believe that your Solicitor has acted poorly or been negligent in their handling of your claim, you must act quickly to get this investigated.

You should immediately contact the Law Society and get some advice on this issue. You need to register a formal complaint with your Solicitor firm and allow them to investigate the complaint. If they are unable to satisfy your complaint you can then seek an investigation from the Law Society and if they find that there has been negligence from your Solicitor, you may be given leave to seek damages from them.

I had a very bad burn off a radiator when I stayed at a hotel. I was scarred. I filled out an accident sheet and I have put a claim in but they will not reply to my solicitor. I have looked up the company and it said it dissolved 2 months later, the hotel is still up and running, it’s on trip advisor and booking.com but how do i get hold of the person who had the hotel before it dissolved and would I still be able to persue my claim?

Your Solicitor should be able to identify whether the business was properly closed and placed in either administration or liquidation. The new business may well appear to be exactly the same from the outside – trading under the same hotel name etc, but if the business is new and correctly registered, it will not be liable for the incident in which you were injured.

The claim MUST go against the original company and their owners/insurers.

If you were injured in an accident at work whilst working for a company that has subsequently ceased trading, you do still have the right to pursue a claim for compensation.

At Direct2Compensation our specialist Solicitors have successfully pursued accident at work personal injury claims against companies who are no longer in business on a number of occasions. That said, there are often problems that lead to such claims failing. If the business that has since ceased trading did not have or failed to pay for employer liability insurance cover, then there is a strong chance that your claim would fail. This would not be because of any problems with regards to proving liability, but because there will be no party or organisation in place to pay any damages or costs to you or your No Win No Fee Solicitor.

If insurance is in place and it had been paid for, there is a possibility that you could still succeed with your claim. Our Solicitors would certainly be willing to run some checks on the Insurance database to locate any possible employer liability insurance cover and then address a claim to one should one be located.

If employer liability cover for the ceased trading business is located, the final hurdle to overcome when presenting a claim to them relating to injuries sustained in an accident at work will be around any excess on the policy. As with most insurance policies, it is common for an excess to be in place where the employer would have to pay a specified amount before the insurers would pay the rest. For example, this could be a sum of £2,500. If this transpired to be the case in your claim, there would be no business to pay the excess and the insurers would have NO responsibility to pay the excess and only any value of the claim that exceeded the excess. As an example, if you had a claim for accident at work compensation that was settled at an agreed value of £3,000 but the business no longer existed and the employer liability insurance policy had an excess of £2,500, you would only receive £500 for your claim.

It is definitely worth investigating this further though as it is only by making checks that any facts can be found out.

My 13 year old went in to our local burger king restaurant to use the toilet & the big heavy toilet door fell on his arm. He spoke to deputy manager who put the door one side. I wasn’t happy so went in to store & he hadn’t even noted the accident so told him to put it in accident book. I was told someone would contact me. Weeks went by so I called in to speak to management & she had said she knew about door hurting my sons arm but didn’t have details until I pointed out book which accident was written on. I’ve various emails where she has emailed someone higher up even admitting the put door up again only for it to fall down again. This burger king is a franchise & in administration, where do we stand please?

I would be very happy to talk with you about this incident and I would be confident that a claim can be commenced for your Son’s injury.

With the business being in administration, it can cause some disruption to the claims process, but that should not prevent you from at least pursuing the claim. A couple of minutes on the phone with you will enable me to explain the possible issues we may face. Remember, with us, if the claim were to fail it would cost you nothing, so you have nothing to lose by pursuing a claim for compensation.

Hello I just wanted to say I had an accident at work and have been awarded £1,750 but I’ve been waiting for my cheque for over 9wks. I have phoned my solicitors and they said its in the hands of the administrators, what do I do now?

It can be really frustrating waiting for a settlement cheque to come forward.

Of course, I don’t know the full details of the situation with regards to your claim and the state of the business against whom you have succeeded. If an official administrator has been appointed, they will have full control over the finances of the business and may have listed you as a creditor along with anyone else the company owed money to. If so, that could lead to a delay in releasing the funds.

I would recommend that you find out more from your Solicitor in relation to the situation.

One of my previous employeess that worked for the company during the 1980’s is trying to claim against us for Plural Thickening. Our insurance company at the time have now ceased trading, we were also not a Limited Company at that time. Where do i need to go from here !!

If you had insurance at the time, that is where the claim should be addressed. If the insurer in question no longer trades, can you find out if it was taken over by another firm or incorporated in to the portfolio of a large insurer?

Failing that, I suggest that you seek some legal advice regarding your situation.

Hi, thanks for letting us know about your accident at work claim. If the limited company is still trading, then the settlement will have to be made – it would have to come from their insurance or if not, from the Directors/Shareholders personal funds (if they have this).

Have you spoken with the courts/your Solicitor about their refusal to pay up?

If the company has ceased trading and been through administration or wound up, the payment could be lost. The company would have had insurance in the first place and it is the insurance that would pay the compensation to you. However, if there is a large excess, the company will not be in a position to pay that and the settlement cannot be paid without the excess being deducted.

In such cases, the only way for you to get your settlement would be for you to pay the excess – i.e lose a certain amount of your settlement and pay the excess yourself. This may seem very unfair – and it is, but if you had the choice of getting nothing or paying a £5,000 excess in order to get £25,000 it would be a wise move.

You really need to speak with your Solicitor and find out who the insurers are and then liaise with them to find out more. Indeed, your Solicitor will not get paid their fees if the 3rd party are unable to pay your settlement.

Hi, thanks for letting us know about your accident at work situation. You are still within the prescribed time limit to pursue a claim – if you were injured in November 2014, you would have until November 2017 to action a claim – if you left it beyond that date, you would be statute barred and unable to take action.

If you are going to claim, you need to act now – I would suggest that you call us on 01225430285 so that we can discuss the accident and if we think a claim can proceed on the basis of liability, we can then get things sorted before you don’t have enough time left to make a claim.

Hiya, My mum and sister was minor injured whilst sat on a bus and a car crashed into it, the firm they was using have now been shut down due to fraud, they are not sure where to go or whom they need to seek advice from on moving forewards. Any help would kindly help.

Hi, we would be very happy to help your Mum and Sister and I suggest that you ask them to either call us on 01225430285 or fill in a contact form so that we can speak with them to discuss the details of their accident and if possible, pursue a no win no fee claim for them.

Our Solicitors will be able to conduct an insurance check on the companies in question and if cover was in place when the businesses went in to administration or were closed, the claims can still be brought against those policies at this stage.

I hope that this information helps – our article on bus accident claims may also help. We look forward to hearing from your Mum and Sister.

Hi, thank you for coming to our website. I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) as a result of the work that you have undertaken during your working life.

If the company that you worked for no longer exists because it has either been taken over – as in your case by MITIE – or due to liquidation/administration, there is still a possibility that you can pursue a claim for compensation.

At Direct2Compensation, some of our specialist partner solicitor firms have real expertise with industrial injury claims and offer excellent No Win No Fee services to people just like yourself. I would suggest that you provide your contact number to us, we can then call you, take a little more information and then pass this to the right specialist solicitor for you. You certainly have nothing to lose at this stage, and possibly a compensation settlement and rehabilitation therapies to obtain if you were to succeed with a claim for HAVS compensation.

I was the passenger in a taxi that was involved in a crash, i instructed a firm to claim for personal injury, the claim has been going on over a year now, my lawyers have sent me to various doctors etc and the company had admitted liability. I was waiting on a cheque coming from them to cover my travel expenses to all of these specialist, as it’s cost me a lot so far. Now i have been informed that the company Enterprise has went into liquidation? Just as my claim was being settled, can anyone tell me if i will still receive my compensation?

If the insurers who are fielding the claim on behalf of the 3rd party (Enterprise?) have accepted liability, then you ought to be receiving compensation from them – as soon as the extent of the injuries and losses have been agreed.

However, if the 3rd party have since been liquidated it could cause a problem to your claim. Although the insurers have admitted liability, if the company that has taken the insurance policy out has ceased trading, it could be that there is no funds available to pay the excess premium that would accompany any settlement. Clearly, I do not know the details of the specific insurance and the situation with Enterprise, but this may be the case for you.

When anyone makes a claim for compensation, they must pay a previously agreed excess. In your case, if the 3rd parties excess is higher than the value of your claim, there is no way the claim could proceed. Alternatively, if the excess is substantial, but lower than the value of the claim, you could still pursue the claim but YOU would have to pay the excess fee to obtain the settlement. For example, if your claim was valued at a sum of £5,000 and the excess on Enterprise’ insurance was £3,000 per claim, you could still pursue the claim. However, instead of receiving £5,000, you would only get £2,000 of which you would then have to contribute 25% to the costs of the claim.

I hope that this is of help. However, I would strongly suggest that you contact the law firm that you have instructed on this matter and request a full written explanation from them.

My father was injured after a fall due to very uneven pavement over tree roots on 23rd November 2012. He was under gt law solicitors which have recently gone into liquidation and was passed onto another solicitors. He received a phone call yesterday 12th November 2015 from the new solicitor saying gt law had not done anything they told my father they had done and now have to have the case and paperwork done in 9 days for court if they do not get the paperwork in in time will my father lose any chance of compensation? He dislocated his shoulder and broke it in two places he had surgery and has been left with severe nerve damage meaning he has limited movement in that arm.

What a mess! It seems that the actions of the previous firm of Solicitors (or the lack of action) may well have caused your Father to have a much more limited prospect of succeeding with his claim. It sounds like he has had some good fortune though in that a new firm has taken on the claim and prepared the case.

The 3 year limitation period is a strict one and is not something that can be challenged. The most important thing in any claim when it comes to the limitation period (especially when it is very close) is to register a claim in the courts. As long as this has been done BEFORE the 3rd anniversary of the accident date, the claim can proceed – even if it took years more to settle the claim. If the 3 years expires BEFORE the claim has been registered in the courts, it is game over and no claim can proceed. It seems as if the new firm has done this for you – but you should check with them IMMEDIATELY to ensure that they HAVE registered your Father’s claim in the courts.

If it transpires that GT Law (the firm you state had been acting for your father) have materially damaged your Fathers claim and he ends up without compensation as a result, it may be possible to pursue them. This is something you would need specialist help with and I would suggest that you contact the Law Society immediately to register a complaint against GT Law. I don’t know much about this area, but it maybe possible that the Directors/Partners of GT Law could be held liable personally and pursued for damages as a result. Again, you would need specialist advice for this.

I do hope that your new firm have registered the claim and that it can therefore proceed. Hopefully this will enable your Father to receive compensation. If the new firm believe that GT Law have been negligent and caused your Father a loss, they may well help you pursue them for damages covering the delay that their inaction caused in the claim.

Had an accident, used CFA (no win no fee). Successfully awarded compensation, and money sent to solicitors firm. The solicitors firm went into administration a few days after my cheque was sent to them. Now another PI solicitors firm has asked me to sign documents to take over my claim file. Is this legit, or can I still get my compensation sent to me without signing it over to another firm of solicitors. The compensation was for £2, 500. Surely this other firm should send me my cheque? Could you please advise me what I should do? Is this normal practice when a firm goes bust. I am now worried I will have to pay out for the release of my money owed to me. Thank you for any advice given.

I am sorry to hear that your claim has been affected by a law firm going in to administration. If the 3rd party that were settling your claim have paid the compensation of £2,500.00 to the Solicitors, then it should have gone in to a client account and should therefore remain open to the administrator to forward to yourself.

Obviously, I do not know the ins and outs of this matter and therefore I would suggest that you do two things. Firstly, look up the Law Society online (they, along with the Solicitors Regulatory Authority -SRA- govern and authorise Solicitors and law firms) and speak with them about your situation. They will have a department that handles such enquiries and can help find out the facts for you.

Secondly, you should contact the firm that is the official administrator or receivers for the law firm that handled your claim. They should be able to access client account monies and advise you of the situation.

I hope that this helps you and I wish you the best of luck in resolving this matter.

An employee is pursuing a claim against an accident at work over 18 months ago, this lady fell from a wet floor but the floor signs were all out and she was wearing trainers with flat slippy soles and was her own fault. She cut her hand, I cleaned it up and asked her to sign the accident book and she did. I advised her to go to seek medical advice and she did, she came back to work straight away doing light duties and never had a problem and now the business has closed to financial hardship she is trying to make a claim. Can she do this?

Thank you for your comment. I can understand why as a person facing a claim, you may be unhappy about it. However, you should not concern yourself unduly as you can simply leave your insurers to deal with this for you. They should be taking a full account of things from you and if the incident happened as you have described, it sounds like the claim is not particularly strong.

Everyone has the right to make a claim for personal injury compensation, as long as they are not acting fraudulently. The fact that you believe that her claim has no grounds for success, is no reason for her not to make the claim. She can only succeed with her claim for compensation as a result of a slip on a wet floor if she (with the assistance of a solicitor) is able to demonstrate that her employer is liable and at fault.

It is good that you had displayed hazard warning signs, which will help your insurers in terms of defending the claim against you. However, simply erecting a hazard sign does not mean that you cannot be held liable. It goes without saying that I do not know the specifics relating to the claim you mention, neither should I as they are private and the claim is ongoing. If you have acted responsibly and ensured that any hazard warning signs were located in the correct place, properly visible and that any slipping hazard was removed at the earliest opportunity, you have every chance of successfully defending any claim against you. I would suggest that you contact your insurer and the person defending the claim against you to discuss this with them and make sure that they have a fully accurate account of the accident, the circumstances of the slippery floor, where the hazard warning signs were erected and what you did after the accident. You can read a little more about why a hazard sign on display doesn’t mean no claim.

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94 questions on this article

I’m not one who would look to claiming for anything as I believe that you should earn anything you receive, but for this matter I felt different. Although the compensation settlement can’t take the memory of the nasty accident away, it gives me more freedom to grow my own business, which gives me time with my baby boys. Thank you Ian and your team, I highly recommend them.”

Melany K Dunn

My husband has received a call today from your solicitor. They are happy to take on my husband’s claim. May I take this opportunity to thank you kindly for your research and help in this matter.

Mrs. H – Staffordshire

Claiming personal injury compensation is all new to us and any misgivings I might initially have had were quickly dispelled. We are very impressed with the speed and professionalism you have all shown to date. Regardless of any final outcome we could not expect more and it is reassuring to know you have a clear and reasonable incentive in achieving a successful outcome. I have no problem in your including any of my comments on your website to put others at ease in using your service.

Mr. Twigg, Somerset

If you need help or advice regarding a claim, then this is by far the best most reliable website to use, with real, genuine people ready to help and advise. I feel so much happier, knowing that they will try their best to put me in touch with the right people. Sometimes you feel like they are just call centers, but this definitely isn’t!

Believe me you have come to the right place when you hit on this website. Ian is a really genuine person who has plenty of expertise to hand.